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Whit Magro

Favorite climbing area:"My own back yard" and the Himalaya because there BI

Favorite Climb:North Pillar of Fitz Roy…..so splitter!

At the age of 28, Whit Magro is known for his impressive solo ascents, Himalayan expeditions and difficult free climbs. With more energy than nuclear fission, Whit has accomplished from February 2006 to February 2007 what many strive to accomplish over a decade in both rock and alpine disciplines.

In 2006, after sharing his skills as an instructor for the Khumbu Climbing School in Tibet, Whit made the impressive first free solo ascent of Losar VI WI5, arguably the world’s greatest ice climb in just 4 hours. The first ascent of this route took 4 days. Just weeks prior, Magro nearly climbed Chlotase via the South West Ridge VI 5.8 AI 3, in 2 days with partner Ross Lynn; tuning around in the approaching darkness only one hour from the summit. In February of 2007, Whit made the first recorded ascent of the East Ridge, VI 5.9 AI 2 on Tawoche in 36 hours, then attempted a new line on the South West Ridge, reaching 5,700 meters with Kris Erickson and Adam Knoff before retreating in a blizzard. During Whit’s first trip to Patagonia in late 2006, he and Argentine partner Gabrial Rocamora made an unbelievable 36-hour ascent of Fitz Roy’s, Supercanaleta, VI 5.10 M5, in full Patagonian conditions. “I felt wind like that once before while skydiving…falling at terminal velocity!” says Magro.

When Whit is not in the mountains he spends much of his time perusing his passion for rock climbing. On a two week tour during the autumn of 2006, Magro and partner climbed Sunlight Buttress, V 5.11b in Kolob Canyon, Rainbow Wall, V 5.12b (onsight) in Red Rocks, the classic Romantic Warrior, V 5.12c and Sirocco, 5.12a (onsight) in the Needles, California. They ended the trip with a 14 - hour car-to-car free ascent of the Regular Route on Half Dome. “We were tired after that tour and so was my car.” states Magro.

On previous trips to Yosemite, Whit has linked Astro Man and The Rostrum in 12 hours; Lower, Middle, and Higher Cathedral in 12 hours, and climbed The Nose on El Capitan onsight in a day. Along with big granite walls Whit is no stranger to desert sandstone. Favorites include the famous Wind, Sand, and Stars, V 5.12b in Kolob Canyon, Tricks of the Trade, VI 5.11 C2; these combined with countless desert towers, and cracks routes up to 5.13.

“When you look up enthusiasm in the dictionary there is a photo of Whit,” laughs one of the local guides he works with. “His energy is infectious; you can’t help but to be motivated in his presence.” You have a better chance of seeing him in one of the local canyons climbing than you do around town. Whit lives in Bozeman, Montana with his wife Kimberly and spends the summer months in the Alaska Range and on the trails within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. From the Tetons of Wyoming to the Beartooth Range in Montana, Whit works for Jackson Hole Mountain Guides, Alaska Mountaineering School and Montana Alpine Guides. “There is nothing I love more than teaching and inspiring people about what I love,” says Whit. “I have a great job, I get to go climbing!”